A splendid chaire (tea caddy) made by an artist named Moritoki Taiyu. This thick tea container is a Bizen ware, from one of the six oldest remaining Japanese pottery traditions. Bizen is a small town in Okayama prefecture (ancient Bizen province). There, for more than one thousand years, potters have been producing a sober yet strong looking wood fired ceramic. This rustic pottery whose age gives it a noble air is still popular today in Japanese homes and restaurants alike.

Moritoki Taiyu was born in Bizen in 1920. At the age of 30, he began studying pottery, starting with Bizen ware and moving on to Mino ware (oribe, seto, shino...). Moritoki Taiyu is also known for his calligraphic works, which shows honesty, fortitude and dynamism, traits also found in his pottery.

The chaire is in very good condition. The lid is made of ivory and show a “mushi-kui”, a feature that makes the ivory look as if it had been eaten by an insect. Although that is not the case, it is the result of a natural phenomenon. That distinctive mark is sought-after by collectors, who see it as an aspect of Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetics, where imperfection and age are parts of the harmony of beauty.